Dragoon "The Uno" Russian Imperial Stout

Tucson's newest brewery, Dragoon Brewing Company, has already built a pretty stellar reputation in the four weeks they have been open. The Dragoon IPA and Stronghold Session Ale are very solid beers. Being a hop head myself I've already had quite a few pints of the Dragoon IPA both at the brewery and establishments around town.

Being June 1st, it seemed odd that Dragoon decided to release a Russian Imperial Stout for their first special release. I have to say I wasn't particularly excited about it until they put out the release notes online. Brewed with rye for some spiciness along with a large and dark grain bill and Magnum and Delta hops, this is a 10.4% AVB beer that tops off at 92 IBUs. That's more hop bitterness than their IPA!

But that's just the information on the website. How did this beer turn out? Well, I now understand why they wanted "The Uno" to be Dragoon's first special release beer even though it's June. The beer, served in a 10oz (?) tulip glass, is pitch black and thick with a moderate caramel color head. As you drink the beer you can see the thickness of it as the caramel color slowly drips back to the bottom of the glass.

The Uno has a very smooth mouth feel, not but like a milk stout, more just like a well balanced beer. This is what makes it such an interesting beer though. The rye and the hops make for a very active palate with chocolate and some mildly spicy flavors mixing. The back of your mouth is assaulted by the hop bitterness, but isn't that overpowering (but I'm a hophead so, who knows). Even so, the beer is very smooth to drink. There are a lot of stouts that take a lot of effort to drink down, but this one slides right down the throat, even on a hot day. I think that the rye and the hops help to mask any strong alcohol flavor. If it wasn't such a dark, thick beer you would never know that the alcohol content was 10.4%.

So if you're in Tucson and haven't been to Dragoon yet, check it out! They are open Thursday through Saturday afternoon and this stout is only an 8 barrel release, which is relatively small, so get out soon!